Dilbert was never just a comic strip.

Long before leadership frameworks, corporate jargon, or workplace memes became mainstream, there was a bald engineer saying the things many organisations preferred not to hear. We laughed at the absurdity. And then, quietly, recognised the truth behind it.

Dilbert captured working life as it really is. The pointless meetings. The flawed processes. The disconnect between logic and hierarchy.

Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, had a rare ability to hold up a mirror without sounding angry or preachy. He made us laugh first. Then he made us think.

What stood out was the restraint in the humour. No grand statements. No moralising. Just simple sketches that revealed how systems behave and how people navigate them. Over time, those observations became less about comedy and more about insight. Many of us learned to question how organisations function, simply by reading a few panels each day.

With Scott Adams’ passing on 13th January, it feels like a quiet chapter has closed. His work didn’t need to shout to be remembered. It endures because it remains relevant. The jokes still land. The situations still feel familiar. And the truths still hold.

That, perhaps, is the mark of lasting creative work. It continues to meet us where we are. What once made us smile slowly becomes something that reveals more than it entertains.

Thank you, Scott Adams, for the humour. And for the insight that came with it.